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Causes
By Mayo Clinic staff
Your urinary system includes your kidneys, ureters, bladder and urethra. All play a role in removing waste from your body. Your kidneys — a pair of bean-shaped organs located toward the back of your upper abdomen — filter waste from your blood and regulate the concentrations of many substances. Tubes called ureters carry urine from your kidneys to the bladder, where it's stored until it exits your body through the urethra.
Bacterial cystitis
UTIs typically occur when bacteria outside the body enter the urinary tract through the urethra and begin to multiply. Most cases of cystitis are caused by a type of Escherichia coli (E. coli) bacteria.
Bacterial bladder infections may occur in women as a result of sexual intercourse. But even sexually inactive girls and women are susceptible to lower urinary tract infections because the female genital area often harbors bacteria that can cause cystitis.
Main types of infections
The two main types of bacterial bladder infections are:
- Community-acquired bladder infections. These infections occur when people who aren't in a medical care facility develop a bladder infection. Bladder infections are more common in women than in men.
- Hospital-acquired bladder infections. These infections, also called nosocomial (nos-o-KO-me-ul) infections, occur in people in a medical care facility, such as a hospital or nursing home. Most often they happen in those who have had a urinary catheter placed through the urethra and into the bladder to collect urine, a common practice before some surgical procedures, for some diagnostic tests, or as a means of urinary drainage for older adults or people confined to bed.
Noninfectious cystitis
Although bacterial infections are the most common cause of cystitis, a number of noninfectious factors also may cause the bladder to become inflamed. Some examples:
- Interstitial cystitis. The cause of this chronic bladder inflammation, also called painful bladder syndrome, is unclear. Most cases are diagnosed in women. The condition can be difficult to diagnose and treat.
- Drug-induced cystitis. Certain medications, particularly the chemotherapy drugs cyclophosphamide and ifosfamide, can cause inflammation of your bladder as the broken-down components of the drugs exit your body.
- Radiation cystitis. Radiation treatment of the pelvic area can cause inflammatory changes in bladder tissue.
- Foreign-body cystitis. Long-term use of a catheter can predispose you to bacterial infections and to tissue damage, both of which can cause inflammation.
- Chemical cystitis. Some people may be hypersensitive to chemicals contained in certain products, such as bubble bath, feminine hygiene sprays or spermicidal jellies, and may develop an allergic-type reaction within the bladder, causing inflammation.
- Cystitis associated with other conditions. Cystitis may sometimes occur as a complication of other disorders, such as gynecologic cancers, pelvic inflammatory disorders, endometriosis, Crohn's disease, diverticulitis, lupus or tuberculosis.
- Katz VL, et al. Comprehensive Gynecology. 6th ed. Philadelphia, Pa.: Mosby Elsevier; 2012. http://www.mdconsult.com/books/about.do?about=true&eid=4-u1.0-B978-0-323-06986-1..C2009-0-48752-X--TOP&isbn=978-0-323-06986-1&uniqId=325227117-5. Accessed March 22, 2012.
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- Hooton TM. Acute uncomplicated cystitis and pyelonephritis in women. http://www.uptodate.com/index. Accessed March 22, 2012.
- Interstitial cystitis/painful bladder syndrome. National Kidney & Urologic Diseases Information Clearinghouse. http://kidney.niddk.nih.gov/kudiseases/pubs/interstitialcystitis/. Accessed March 22, 2012.
- French L, et al. Urinary problems in women. Primary Care: Clinics in Office Practice. 2009;36:53.
- Hooton TM. Recurrent urinary tract infections in women. http://www.uptodate.com/index. Accessed March 22, 2012.
- Ksycki MF, et al. Nosocomial urinary tract infection. Surgical Clinics of North America. 2009;89:475.
- Ferri FF. Ferri's Clinical Advisor 2012: 5 Books in 1. Philadelphia, Pa.: Mosby Elsevier; 2012. http://www.mdconsult.com/books/about.do?about=true&eid=4-u1.0-B978-0-323-05611-3..C2009-0-38601-8--TOP&isbn=978-0-323-05611-3&uniqId=291436269-101. Accessed March 26, 2012.
- Brenner BM. Brenner & Rector's The Kidney. 9th ed. Philadelphia, Pa.: Saunders Elsevier; 2011. http://www.mdconsult.com/books/about.do?about=true&eid=4-u1.0-B978-1-4160-6193-9..C2010-1-67932-1--TOP&isbn=978-1-4160-6193-9&uniqId=321553651-265. Accessed March 26, 2012.
- Tanagho EA, et al. Smith's General Urology. 17th ed. New York, N.Y.: The McGraw-Hill Companies; 2008. http://www.accessmedicine.com/content.aspx?aID=3130813. Accessed March 27, 2012.
- Gupta K, et al. International clinical practice guidelines for the treatment of acute uncomplicated cystitis and pyelonephritis in women: A 2010 update by the Infectious Disease Society of America and the European Society for Microbiology and Infectious Diseases. Clinical Infectious Diseases. 2011;52:e103.
- Cranberry. Natural Medicines Comprehensive Database. http://www.naturaldatabase.com. Accessed March 27, 2012.
- Castle EP (expert opinion). Mayo Clinic, Phoenix, Ariz. April 11, 2012.
- Longo DL, et al. Harrison's Online. 18th ed. New York, N.Y.: The McGraw-Hill Companies; 2012. http://www.accessmedicine.com/resourceTOC.aspx?resourceID=4. Accessed April 4, 2012.
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